So This Is How The World Ends
by robotitanshifter
Summary: Three highschool students must survive together when the world seems to end with the arrival of the relentless and terrifying creatures known as Titans. Can they survive as they join the newly established Survey Corps in an attempt to fight back against the Titans? Modern day AU. [Eren Y., Mikasa A.] [Armin A., Annie L.], Rated M for violence, language and possible adult scenarios.
1. I - Prologue

**So This Is How The World Ends.**

 **Chapter 1 – Prologue.**

 _ **Author's note:**_ _Okay just a couple of things I'd like to say before I start:_

 _1 – This is my first Fic, so any and all reviews are welcome, though I apologise if it's in any way sub-par._

 _2 – The story is taking place in modern day Japan (still called Shinganshina, but will also include real life Tokyo *weeab intensifies*), and I'll try to follow the events of the manga as closely as I can, though changes may need to be made as I progress to ensure that the story is grounded in its setting, though I can assure you no changes will be made to the characters (except perhaps to indulge my ships – mainly EreMika and AruAni, though more may be added later.). The opening scenarios will be different from the source material, though things will return to normal once the enemy arrives ;)_

 _3 – And finally, a fun, interactive part of my Fic! Any pieces of music that the characters are listening to at that point will be linked in the opening A.N, so you can listen along with all your favourite members of the 104th! (Though I'll also be including any pieces of music that I feel add to the mood or overall atmosphere)._

 _Now that that's all out of the way, it's time to begin! I hope you enjoy it!_

 _ **Songs included in this chapter:**_

watch?v=-qgrp6bgKxg [UVERworld - (ichioku bun no ichi no shousetsu)]

Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets – Nekomonogatari (Can't find a link for this )

* * *

 _It was cold up there, amongst the blue heavens, where she was so high she felt as though she could reach out and touch the Goddesses themselves. From atop her perch among the clouds, the girl felt the wind flow across her skin, carrying strands of her inky black hair aloft on its gentle breeze. A pair of birds flew effortlessly across the azure sky, the Dove and Mountain Bluebird gliding lazily though the air together in perfect harmony, dancing side by side, the gentle breeze all that disturbed their brilliant plumage. The girl watched them circle and dance above her, grey eyes following their peaceful flight. A stronger gust of breeze caught the birds' wings, and a few loose feathers got caught on the flow of the gentle winds, carrying them down towards her. The girl reached out her hand, gently plucking the feathers from their path. She held them in her hand for a moment, afraid that when she loosened her grasp to look at them, they'd blow away. When she did finally open her hand to look, she saw two feathers, one snow white and the other a gleaming royal blue, lay crossed on her open palm. It was only then that she noticed what lay beyond her hand – pale grey stone, solid and flawless, seemingly as ancient as the world itself. As the wind carried the two feathers out of her hand and into the sky, the girl took in her surroundings – the pale grey stone beneath her was in fact an impossibly high Wall that curved off into the distance, with no end in sight._

 _Following the path of the feathers, the girl's eyes fell upon a city enveloped within the mighty Wall, the sun's rays hitting the creamy stone walls and bright orange clay roofs of the small buildings beneath her, the perfect image of whimsical peace. However, despite the beauty of her surroundings and the peaceful nature of the world around her, the girl couldn't help but feel a great sadness within her at the sight, as if the idyllic city was tainted by some horrific event. She heard footsteps and began to turn to see who was approaching…_

* * *

The peaceful dream was brought to a sudden close as the girl's phone began to blare out the opening strains of one of her favourite UVERworld songs, signalling the start of a new day, and with it the new school year. Groaning, the girl reached a hand  
out from under her covers to put an end to the offending sound, the sunlight filtering from between her blinds lighting her way. Now that the alarm had done its job and woken her from her sleep, the girl lay in bed briefly, staring up at her plain  
white ceiling and pondering what the day might bring, fixating on a small spot of the previous blue paint that had been missed when her uncle had painted her room.

' _Will I do well this year?'_

The spot of blue paint didn't answer.

' _Will I make my family proud?'_

Again, the single smudge of blue didn't respond.

' _Will I pass my exams?'_

Still, the speck of blue remained silent.

'… _will I be happy?'_

The blue stain on the ceiling stubbornly refused to answer her questions.

Upon conceding that the small blob of pastel blue paint either didn't have the answers to life's questions, or just refused to tell her, the girl admitted defeat. Sighing, she climbed out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, turning on the shower.  
The steam from the boiling water curled upwards and out of the doorway as she washed herself in the warm water. Drying and dressing herself in her traditional Japanese sailor style uniform, the girl took one last look at herself in the mirror to ensure  
she was presentable. Heading downstairs she found the kitchen empty, with only a small package wrapped in a handkerchief (her lunch), a plate with a slice of toast and next to it a small note from her uncle that simply read:

" _Good luck, brat."_

A small smiled tugged at the corner of her mouth at her uncle's use of the nickname he had for her. Anyone else reading the note might assume that he was being hurtful, but the girl knew that this was as close to outright emotion as her uncle came – he  
never was very good with emotions. Collecting her lunch, the girl grabbed her school bag and gave it a quick once over to make sure she hadn't missed anything when preparing it the night before. Securing the bento box in her bag while finishing her  
toast, she slipped on her shoes and grey coat before settling her bag on her shoulders and opening the front door, she slipped her earphones in and stepped out into the warm morning air.

Closing the door behind her as the cheery sound of Kishida Kyoudan and the Akeboshi Rockets filled her ears, Mikasa Ackerman began her walk to Shiganshina Central High School

* * *

Mikasa let out an exasperated sigh when she eventually collapsed into her seat in the classroom that would be her class' homeroom for this year: it had been a pain to navigate a path through her too-loud peers to the noticeboards to find her homeroom,  
and even worse dealing with the deafening sounds of excited teenagers in the cramped corridors on her way there. Now that she'd made it however, she found herself able to relax as no one else had arrived just yet. Organising her things, she took a  
breath before her classmates started to file in. Some were familiar to her from last year, others not much. When the bell rang signalling the start of homeroom, the door to the classroom swung open and a young copper headed woman came in, laying some  
papers on her desk at the front of the class.

"Good morning everyone," she called cheerfully. "My name is Miss Ral, and I'll be your homeroom teacher this year. I hope we can all get along this year and help each other out, ok?" She finished with a smile.

"Now before I take the attendance, I have an announcement to make – a new student has transferred to Shinganshina Central and will be joining our class," the room broke out into quiet murmurs as the students discussed this development amongst themselves.  
Miss Ral cleared her throat to regain the class' attention.

"I've also been told that Japanese isn't his first language, so I expect you all to go easy on him and make him feel welcome, understand?"

She needn't have asked, as the pupils began heated discussions of their own, already cooking up wild theories about where the student was from. _Was he American?_ One of the boys started. _That'd make him pretty cool, right? Maybe he's British!_ Gushed  
one of the girls. _Oh, I bet he'd be so charming and sophisticated if he was!_ Mikasa herself didn't engage in any of these trivial discussions, not that anyone asked her opinion. No, she'd wait and find out once the new boy arrived and then  
make up her mind if he was a one of the people she'd avoid, or one of the people she merely accepted. She didn't go much further than that – personal attachments where fleeting and useless, and more often than not they caused pain. No, better to keep  
acquaintances rather than friends – less trouble that way.

She was brought out of her reverie by a knock on the door. Mikasa looked up to see the Headmaster Erwin Smith himself in the doorway, exuding his usual air of power and authority, one that was well earned.

"Miss Ral, sorry to disturb your class, but I dropped by to deliver the new student – he got a little 'lost' on his way here." He gestured to someone who was behind him that remained out of view of the class "Though I'm sure that won't be happening again,  
right?"

The new student must have spoken incredibly quietly, because despite the classroom full of teenagers holding their breath and straining to hear the conversation, they still couldn't hear his response. He must have said something though, as Headmaster  
Smith smiled and looked pleased, before making his excuses and returning to his office.

"Well don't just stand there," Miss Ral started "Come in and introduce yourself to the class."

The silence that had fell upon the room was deafening as every set of eyes and ears were strained in anticipation of the reveal of their mysterious new classmate. Even Mikasa found herself slightly intrigued, especially at the Headmaster's ambiguous use  
of the term 'lost'. _Surely this transfer student wasn't late on his first day,_ she thought to herself. _Though from the way Headmaster Smith said it, it almost sounded like the boy was trying to skip the class. That doesn't bode well._

"You… _can_ understand what I'm saying, right?" Miss Ral queried. Apparently she was as taken aback by the student's lack of communication as the rest of the class. Instead of offering a reply, the student just walked into the classroom, pausing  
briefly at the front to introduce himself.

Tanned skin, unruly brown hair, sleeves rolled up with his top shirt button undone. Hands in his pockets, he had that air of boredom that she'd seen some guys put on to seem cool. Just when she thought she had him pegged as a slacker and delinquent, his  
eyes gave her pause. They were an exquisite shade of green that almost looked turquoise to Mikasa's eyes, and although he made a show of making them look bored, they burned with a fire unlike anything she'd ever seen before – there was a raw fury  
in them that made her a little uncomfortable, which surprised her as living with a man like her uncle had made her immune to most glares, but this boy's eyes contained such sheer anger that it almost looked like they were actually orbs of turquoise  
flame. There was something else in them too, something more, but before she could figure it out, the boy spoke:

"Name's Eren Yeager. Pleased to meet ya."


	2. II - Courage, Wisdom and Power

**So This Is How The World Ends**

 **Chapter 2 – Courage, Wisdom and Power.**

 _ **A/N – COLLEGE IS A BITCH – stealing all my free time so I can't write!**_ _So I got some feedback from a friend who's been doing this much longer than me, so I've decided to really hit this one with all I've got, and try a lot harder. Hopefully it shows. And sorry for the delay._

 **Songs Included**

None this chapter, sorry.

 **15** **th** **September,**

 **Time until event: 1 month**

"Name's Eren Yeager. Pleased to meet ya."

The class sat in stunned silence. If Japanese was his second language, why did he know such slang terms and mannerisms, let alone use them? Mikasa sat as surprised as her peers, eyebrows slightly raised, grey eyes marginally wider at the transfer student's display of such vulgar language. _Maybe he's just pulling this as a joke, or a stunt to look cool,_ she thought. But as she continued to watch him, there wasn't the slightest hint of a smile on his lips. In fact, his face didn't carry any emotion at all, only those eyes carrying that same ferocity as before. Without waiting for instruction, Yeager offered only a slight bow to the class before he sauntered across the room and sat in the only free seat – 2nd in the row beside the window – and directly behind Mikasa herself. _Perfect, just what I need._ Mikasa grumbled to herself, eyes narrowed. _The trouble maker sitting behind me. I swear, if he tries anything…_

As he sat, Eren noticed the girl in front of him stiffen as he settled into his new seat. _Scaring the locals already, hilarious._ Laughing to himself, he rested his legs up on his desk and sat back in his seat regarding the girl in front of him, her perfect posture, and her mundane inky black hair that ran to her upper back. _Just like every other girl in this place. Christ, they really don't like individuality here, do they?_ Glancing around, he noticed most of the class staring at him open mouthed.

"What?" He asked, annoyed at the stupid looks on their faces, like he was some skinless freak.

"Mr Yeager!" Miss Ral had her eyes fixed on him, "I don't know where you came from, but I'll think you'll find that in this school you're expected to treat others with respect and sit in your chair properly, rather than act like an impotent child!" _The gall of this student!_ She thought to herself. First his disrespectful language, now his arrogant attitude in the class room! She made a note to herself to talk to Erwin Smith about this later. _He's going to take a lot of work._

Eren himself had forgotten that there was a specific way one had to behave in this country when in places like work or school. Not that he cared in the slightest, it just irked him beyond belief. _What a school this is,_ he thought to himself. _Teach ya nothing about life, instead they just fill your head with numbers and train you to be a perfect cookie-cutter model citizen. School my ass, more like a factory._

"Mr Yeager!" The homeroom teacher's shout pulled him out of his thoughts. "I do not enjoy repeating myself, so do as I say and sit properly and act your age before I send you to Mr Smith and the disciplinary staff!"

Once again noticing that the whole class was watching him, Eren was about to confront them again before his father's voice rang in his ears.

'… _and please Eren, don't start trouble on your first day. I don't want any calls from the Headmaster…'_

Sighing at the memory of the promise he made to his father earlier that morning, Eren relented, removing his legs from his desk and sitting forward in his seat.

"Yes Miss Ral, I'm sorry Miss Ral." He said, bowing his head slightly. Smiling, she picked up the register from her desk and made her way to the front of the black board and turned to face them.

"Right then, now that everyone is all settled in, we can finally take attendance." As his teacher ran through the list, Eren's eyes wandered around the room, matching names to faces just in case he might need a favour from any of them in the future. As the list ended he brought his eyes to the front of the class as the teacher continued to address them. "Now then, as I'm sure most of you know, class reps are decided on last year's test performances: the student with the best results is the first term's class rep, meaning that our first class rep is Mikasa Ackerman. Congratulations Mikasa, perfect scores aren't easy to achieve." Eren heard the class applaud, though none of them looked at all surprised, and some even looked outright annoyed. _Knew it,_ he scowled. _She's one of those Cookie cutter model students with no soul or personality._ The girl was the epitome of everything he hated about schools, and certain aspects of Japanese culture in general. Despite not sharing a single word with the girl, Eren Yeager had already decided that he didn't like Mikasa Ackerman. Not one bit.

The rest of homeroom passed uneventfully, as Eren Yeager kept himself to himself the rest of the class. As the bell rang signalling the end of homeroom and the students began to gather up their things before Miss Ral called out, stopping their movements.

"There's no reason to leave: your first history lesson will be with me, so you can all stay seated." The students settled themselves back into their seats, and Mikasa Ackerman pulled a textbook from her bag, preparing for the lesson's start. This was one of the few classes that Mikasa actually enjoyed, so she prayed that Yeager's presence behind her wouldn't ruin it for her. So far he hadn't said a word, and she hoped it stayed that way: he seemed like a rude and disrespectful guy, so she had no immediate desire to communicate with him. Sighing, she pulls a stray lock of hair out of her face and behind her ear. Miss Ral tapped her pen on the blackboard to get her class' attention:

"Right everyone, pay attention. This year's topic is Ancient Greece, and there will be a project to go alongside the classwork." There was a collective groan from the class. "Quiet now. You'll be assigned a partner and given a Greek myth to investigate and write a report on. You'll be expected to do all of the required work outside of class hours, and it will be split equally between you: that means no slacking off and letting your partner do all the work. Understand?" Sounds of agreement were heard throughout the class as Mikasa silently prayed that she was paired with someone tolerable. Ral continued:

"Right, listen for your name and your partner and the given topic. Mikasa Ackerman?" Mikasa stood quickly, waiting for her teacher's instructions.

"Here Miss." Miss Ral smiled lightly.

"Excellent, you'll be researching the legend of the Titans, and your partner will be Mr Yeager." And awkward silence fell upon the room as everyone stared, shock written an more than a few faces. _Team the straight A student with this rough transfer? She must be mad._ The face with the most surprise on it was Yeager himself, though he was quick to replace it with his default look of boredom. Their teacher continued. "I hope your good behaviour will rub off on him. Good luck, I expect excellent results as per usual, Miss Ackerman. Oh, and Yeager," she added. "Don't you DARE think of slacking off or dragging her down – I'll be watching you." She finished, more than a little threateningly.

Rolling his eyes, Eren sighed and cursed his bad luck. _Out of this whole class, she chooses to pair me with this Ackerman girl._ Grumbling to himself, Eren scowled ahead at the back of Ackerman's head. _I swear to God, this'll be the death of me. She'll probably treat me like dirt too. Well if she's so amazing, then she can do it all herself._ Deciding that he'd have as little to do with Miss Perfect as he could, Eren once again leaned back in his chair and prepared for the rest of the lesson as Miss Ral announced the other teams and projects to mixed reactions. _At least this is the only time I have to see her today…_

When lunch eventually arrived, Eren found himself wandering around the school's various corridors and hallways – he didn't have anyone to sit with in the lunch hall and he sure as hell wasn't gonna sit there by himself. He was about to call it quits and sit on some random staircase when he heard a commotion from around the corner.

"…what's the matter Goldielocks? Too much of a pussy to fight back?"

Rounding the corner, Eren found himself staring at three large students who must've been a few years older than himself. He also saw that they were beating the crap out of another foreign transfer student. Blonde hair and blue eyes meant that he stood out like a sore thumb, a prime target for thugs like these. He obviously wasn't particularly strong either, as they'd had no trouble beating him to the floor, where he know lay in a foetal position, bloodied and desperate. However, instead of begging the bullies to stop, Eren was shocked to hear the blonde kid straight out insult them.

"I don't need to! Using violence would make me no better than you, and I'm not so insecure that I need to beat up others to make myself feel superior!" he managed to shout between their kicks to his gut.

"You're the real cowards here!"

Although Eren admired the kid's passion and bravery, he wasn't particularly impressed by his wisdom. _Damn it, doesn't he realise he's only making them angry?_

As if on cue, the biggest attacker roared in anger and doubled the force of his kicks, relentlessly pounding the smaller boy with all his might.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT! I'LL TEACH YOU TO CALL ME A COWARD! I'LL BEAT YOU TO AN INCH OF YOUR LIFE!"

By this point, Eren had heard enough. He didn't like bullies at the best of times, but after being angered earlier when discovering he was forced with Ackerman, he wasn't in the mood for anyone's bullshit. Besides, he needed to blow off steam, and these jokers were the perfect punching bags. _3 against 1? I've beaten odds like that before, it'll be cake._ His face contorted into a twisted grin as he started to move towards the bullies. Allowing his fury to boil to the surface, he cracked his knuckles, eyes blazing. _Oh man, this is gonna be fun!_

Armin Arlert could taste blood. He'd either bitten his tongue, or a bully had split his lip, possibly both. He covered his face with his arms as best as he could as his attackers brutally beat him without a shred of remorse. Each kick hurt worse than the last, and he swore he was going to pass out soon. _Why hasn't anyone found us? Surely someone must have seen this and told a teacher by now._ He wasn't stupid, he knew he was too weak to stop the bullies, so his best option was to hold out until either they got bored, someone stopped them, or until lunch ended. One particularly nasty kick to his back made him hope that someone would come sooner rather than later.

His heart leapt as he heard someone sprinting down the hallway, but rather than shouting for the bullies to stop, he heard a primal scream of fury, and suddenly one of his attackers was launched off his feet and into one of this comrades, sending them both toppling to the ground. As a foreign foot came into view, Armin looked up as his saviour took a protective stance over him, fists raised. He was rough looking, with hair dishevelled and shirt askew, his scruffy hair falling over his face, behind which Armin could see two green eyes blazing with fury.

"Who the fuck are you?!" demanded his assailants, gathering themselves up and preparing for conflict.

"The last man on this earth that you wanna fuck with." Came the simple reply, barely more than a whisper, his furious expression underlining his statement.

"Ha! This Gaijin sounds like he walked straight outta an American movie!" called the ringleader, his false bravado obvious to Armin as the bullies laughed uneasily. Swallowing any unease, the lead bully approached Armin's defender. "Think you're tough, huh Gaijin? Lemme show you how we do things here!"

Stepping forward, he swung a punch at Armin's rogue defender, a clumsy haymaker that would've landed had his opponent not been more skilled. The rogue sidestepped, catching the bully's arm, and locking it in his grasp. With his main arm trapped, the bully tried attacking the rogue with his left, but it was batted away as the rogue delivered two savage blows to his stomach, and sensing the other two approaching, a final finishing blow to the face. As the lead bully crumpled to the ground unconscious, the rogue turned to others, fists raised with a demented grin on his face. Turning to look at each other, they wordlessly gave up and ran, leaving their leader passed out on the floor.

The rogue turned back towards Armin as he moved to pick himself up. "Need a hand?" he asked, smiling, hand outstretched. Seeing the hand, Armin grimaced. Hoisting himself up with visible effort, he straightened, wincing as his new injuries twinged.

"No, but thank you for the offer." He said, his voice soft but firm. He took a moment to dust himself down before considering the stranger before him. "Thank you for saving me, I really owe you one. That had gotten pretty regular. Hopefully you've stopped them for good now though.", he said, smiling, before wincing as he realised that his lip WAS indeed burst. He continued "My name's Armin. Armin Arlert," extending his hand.

"ah, its not a problem, I hate guys like that." Grabbing Armin's hand firmly, he looked him in the eye "And I got your back now, if they give you any trouble, just let me know." Adding, "Name's Eren Yeager" he said, as he shook Armin's hand.

 **A/N**

Sorry it took so long, got busy and distracted.


	3. III - And In The Darkness Bind Them

**So This Is How The World Ends**

 **Chapter 3 – And In The Darkness Bind Them**

 **September 22** **nd**

 **Time until event: 3 weeks.**

"Come on, Armin, admit it! The movies are so much better than the books!"

"More action packed, perhaps, but you miss out on Tolkien's incredible writing style and skill. He really is a modern master."

Eren snorted in response. "Pfft. The books are dryer than a desert" He raised his hands defensively at the look his blonde friend gave him. "Don't get me wrong, I loved The Hobbit, but I could never get into the others. Too wordy."

Armin laughed at that, which only served to annoy Eren more. "Hey, it's not like I'm stupid or anything! But you have to admit it; the battle for Helm's Deep from the second film was insane." He raised his eyebrows and grinned as he emphasised the last word, feeling confident his walking companion wouldn't disagree with his last remark.

"I never said you were stupid, Eren," came the straight-faced response. He grew serious for a moment, "You really can get so angry over nothing, and you should work on it." Eren looked away, eyes narrowed at remark.

"But," the change of Armin's tone of voice made Eren look over to see that he'd stopped walking with a grin plastered across his face. "That battle WAS awesome." He said, eyes twinkling.

"See!? I know what I'm talking about." A grinning Eren exclaimed, grabbing his friend's shoulder as they continued their walk, their destination drawing closer. The sun was still rising as the two boys made their way to school, painting the sky in warm oranges and golds, the clouds casting soft pink and purple shadows across the morning sky. The sun's golden rays silhouetted Shinganshina Central Highschool against the fiery sky. The sight wasn't lost on Eren who commented on the building's sinister appearance. "The shithole looks even more like Barad-Dur than usual today," he said, more to himself than his companion. Armin laughed lightly.

"Funny you should say that, Eren. I always had Headmaster Smith pegged as more of an Elrond than a Sauron myself." The two waited at the last traffic crossing before the street their school was on, the road still thick with cars from the morning rush hour.

"Speaking of the Head, how DID an Englishman like you become Headmaster of a prestigious Japanese school?" Armin shrugged in response.

"I can't say, but his military background certainly seems to help with keeping everyone in line." Eren opened his mouth to speak but Armin quickly cut him off.

"Enough about that, onto more important matters."

"Uh-oh."

"Eren. If you won't take this stuff seriously then I will. You _have_ been keeping up with your work, yes?"

Rolling his eyes, Eren sighed angrily.

"Yes, I have. _Mom._ "

"Even the project? The one about Greece you're supposed to do with Acker-"

"Armin, I told you, we don't talk about that." Eren cut him off angrily. Armin let out an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes at his friend's stubbornness. "Eren, you can't just abandon an entire unit because you 'don't like someone's vibe'. It's stupid and irresponsible. If you want to pass and not annoy your parents, you'll have to bite the bullet and work with her eventually. Not to mention that Miss Ral said she'd skin you alive if you ruined her prized student's grades." Eren stared into the distance angrily, fuming internally. Armin didn't get it, he didn't understand. If Eren was going to get on with someone, let alone work with them, they had to have passion. It didn't matter what that passion was for, as long as they had something that made them want to get up in the morning and grab life by the balls, that was all he needed. _That passion is what makes people human,_ Eren thought. _So many of the kids in this school don't have that, it's like it was ripped outta them. Kids like Ackerman, they have no soul. They're more like robots than people. How can you work with someone like that?_

He was brought out of his reverie by Armin tugging his arm as the traffic signals told them to cross. As they approached the gate, Armin stopped him to make a final request before they split off for their different classes.

"Eren, look, I'm not asking you to fall madly in love with her, just try and get this project done, ok? They never pair the same two students more than once, so once it's done you'll never have to work with her again. Its only once, so please try?" With that Armin turned and moved off towards the science building as Eren huffed and walked towards the gym. _Fuckin Armin._ He fumed. _I hate it when he makes a good point. Which is all the time._

"Ah for fuck's sake." He said to no one in particular as he realised that Armin was right and he would indeed have to work with Ackerman. Sighing, he made his way through the corridors to the locker room, praying that whatever their teacher had in mind would take his mind off the horrendous prospect of having to work with Mikasa Ackerman. Arriving in the locker room, he began to change into his gym clothes. Halfway through pulling on his shirt, a thought struck him. _Hang on,_ he thought. Suddenly he broke out into a grin. _Fuck me, I can't believe I didn't realise sooner. Fuck this language, it wasn't 'Kyojin' as in 'Giant', it was the reading for 'Titan'!_ He started laughing to himself. _Oh man, I can't wait to show Ackerman up and wipe the smug look off her face._

* * *

Meanwhile, Mikasa Ackerman was slowing making her way through the school library trying to find materials on the Greek Titans. She knew from experience that Miss Ral was fond of surprise progress reports, and while she wasn't going to let Yeager dump all the work on her, she was most certainly not going to have nothing done and look bad if she got 'randomly' selected for a progress report. Previously Mikasa wouldn't have worried about things like this as her teachers knew that she'd most likely have work finished well in advance, but after being paired up with Yeager, she had a bad feeling that Ral would pick on her first. Eventually she found a book about ancient Greece, though it didn't look too promising. She took it to a desk, sat down with a notebook and highlighter, determined to make the most of this study period. Sighing, she set to work. She had, admittedly, put off working on the project for a week due to the setup with her and Yeager, but it was plainly childish to refuse to do the work solely because she didn't like her partner. She also knew that even if she did the project herself, they would still receive a poor mark for their lack of co-operation. The school took teamwork and social skills very seriously, and would grade group work on overall member participation as well as the quality of the final outcome, which meant that if Yeager continued his present action, then things wouldn't go very well for them. _I've worked too hard to get where I am now,_ Mikasa said to herself. _I won't let him drag me down._ She'll just have to confront him in class today and convince him that whatever grudge he had against her wasn't worth failing the assessment for.

11am

"Come in everyone, take your seats quickly and quietly please."

The class filed in silently as per Miss Ral's instructions, and Mikasa couldn't help but feel nervous about the prospect of having to report her progress on the Titan project. While she'd managed to get some relevant information out of the only book on Greece she was able to find on her study period, she didn't feel prepared at all for any kind of questions. _Damn it, I shouldn't have put this off. It was silly to take the same approach as Yeager,_ she thought as she took her seat and laid out her things. Laying out her notes, she couldn't help but feel that they were much too short, and knowing that Yeager probably hadn't done any work to supplement hers was only making her worry more.

Once the class had all sat and faced the front, Miss Ral stood in front of the whiteboard, tapping it with the end of a marker to make sure she had everyone's attention.

"Class, I'm sure I don't need to remind you about the project I've assigned you, but just in case any of you have forgotten, or think I have forgotten, I'm going to see how some of you have begun your research. Mikasa," she said. _Damn it,_ the girl thought, _I knew she'd do this._

"Why don't you set your usual good example and tell us how you and Mr Yeager have been getting on?"

Mikasa felt every pair of eyes in the class on her as she stood, glancing down at her notes. Fidgeting with a pen nervously, she felt her palms start sweating. _If this goes badly and I get in trouble, it's your fault Yeager._

"Ah, well," She cleared her throat as she began, "There were surprisingly few materials on the Titans in the school Library, but I was able to find-"

Suddenly a deep voice from behind her cut her off mid sentence.

"The twelve Titans were the children of Uranus and Ge, who were representations of Heaven and Earth respectively." Mikasa whirled round to see Eren Yeager lounging in his chair behind her, staring out the window, his face in its usual, bored expression.

"The youngest of these Titans was Kronos, who used a golden sickle given to him by his sister Rhea to cut his dad's balls off and throw 'em in the sea," he continued, briefly meeting her eyes as he did, and she caught a gleam of triumph burning in his flaming turquoise eyes.

"After which he stole his dad's throne, married his sister in a majorly creepy move and proceeded to rule for a bit. And if marrying his own sister wasn't creepy enough, anytime she gave birth, he'd eat the kid, as he'd become paranoid that they'd follow in his footsteps and cut HIS balls off. This continued for a while until Rhea managed to hide her son Zeus away, and when he grew up, he proceeded to cut his dad open and pull out all the other kids Kronos had swallowed, and then they all became Olympian Gods, and then they spent ten years kicking the shit outta Kronos before lockin him in hell."

As he told his story, the class had fallen silent, with their jaws hanging open, though none hung lower than Mikasa's. She couldn't believe it. Over the last week he hadn't said a single word to her, let alone discuss the project with her, yet here he was, showing her up in front of everyone making her look lazy and complacent. As he finished, a wry smile crossed his face as he made eye contact with her again.

"Truth be told, it's a bit more complicated than that, but you get the idea. There were also Giants, Cyclopes, weird things with a hundred hands and Aphrodite got involved too, but I guess we'll leave that stuff to the final presentation." He finished, looking more than a little pleased with himself. Miss Ral was the first to break the stunned silence.

"I suppose you're very pleased with yourself, Mr Yeager, but I wouldn't get ahead of myself if I were you." She said, and the confusion Eren was feeling was more than evident on his face. "You may have a sizeable amount of pre-existing knowledge at your disposal, or you studied harder than I assumed, but you have also clearly at no point consulted your partner or given her any of this information." Her face hardened. "You _will_ change this, or you will find yourself in a very tricky situation." Despite the teacher's harsh words, Mikasa could see that he didn't feel defeated at all. On the contrary, in his mind he'd clearly won; he'd shown Mikasa up in front of the entire class, bringing her reputation into question as well as raising his own. She wouldn't let this slide. _That's it, Yeager. You and I are going to have a nice, long talk once this class is over,_ Mikasa thought as she sat back in her seat, trying to ignore the fact that she knew Yeager was grinning smugly behind her. She made a mental note get revenge later as Miss Ral redirected the class toward the day's lesson.

Eventually the bell rang signalling the end of class and the beginning of lunch. Mikasa hurried to pack her things, all the while mentally preparing herself to talk to Yeager. Taking a deep breath, she remembered all the annoyance he'd caused her, allowed the negativity to fill her completely. Armoured in bitterness, she turned around and was about to begin berating Yeager only to find his seat empty. Mikasa whirled around, eyes frantically yet carefully scanning the room trying to find him, but he wasn't there. _How the hell did he slip past me so quick?_ She thought to herself. _Surely I would've seen him leave?_ Gathering her things, she quickly made her way out into the crowded corridor hoping to catch him up, but now that the classes were all emptying out for lunch, the corridors were too packed with students to find Yeager. Growing frustrated, Mikasa pushed her way through the crowds, ignoring any protests from those around her. _I won't let him get away from me. Not after earlier,_ she fumed. _Someone's gotta kill that attitude of his, and I'll be the one to do it._

* * *

After sacrificing fifteen minutes of her lunch break trying to find Yeager, Mikasa's frustration was threatening to boil over and explode onto any unfortunate soul that crossed her path. She needn't have looked too far, however. After finding herself in a disused stairwell, she heard the faint sound of someone whistling. Following the sound up the stairs, she found Yeager lounging on some old desks at the top of the landing, rolling a cigarette with his earphones in. He finished rolling the cigarette before reaching for another skin, clearly without noticing that he was no longer alone in his hiding space. Relishing the moment, Mikasa took a breath before loudly clearing her throat and taking a step forward.

Eren glanced up from his task to see Ackerman standing over him, arms crossed with a sour look on her face, one that he immediately mirrored upon seeing her. "Oh look," he jeered. "If it isn't Ackerman. Tell me, how can I help the Model Student today?" Sneering he laid down his cigarette skin and folded his arms, leaning back on the pile of old desks. "If you're looking for a lesson on Greek Mythology, I'm afraid that Professor Me is a bit busy right now, so if you don't mind," he said. " _Sich verpissen!"_ He spat, eyes full of hate and anger.

Mikasa took a step back in surprise: while she didn't have a clue what language he was speaking, the sentiment was pretty clear. Rather than surrendering though, she advanced on him, letting loose her ice cold fury.

"Listen here, Yeager, I don't know what your problem with me is, and to be honest, I couldn't care less, but I'll be damned if I let myself get dragged down by your petty insolence. I don't care for your idiocy, but I _do_ care about my results, and I am not going to falter, not now, not after all the work I've put in thus far." She shoved him hard to emphasise her point. "So you _will_ stop this childish rubbish and get on with this damn project, and afterwards, you can ignore me all you want, hell, we can argue everyday if it's what you want, but _after_ you start co-operating with me on this project."

Snarling, Eren got to his feet, a twisted grin on his face. "Oh lookey here," he said as he advanced on Mikasa. "Miss golden girl means business. Well guess what? So do I. I couldn't give less of a fuck about your damn project, or your grades. I don't want _anything_ to do with a soulless cookie cutter piece of shit like _you._ " He spat, trying to intimidate her with his height by stepping into her personal space and looking down on her menacingly. "You might think your shit doesn't stink, but y'know what, Miss Perfect? You stink the worst outta all of us. Worse than me, and I've done things you wouldn't believe. And y'know what you stink of? Failure. Desperation. _Fear._ All you are, despite your bluster, is another scared little girl, desperate for love and approval, sucking the dick of a broken education system just to get a little pat on the head from mommy and daddy so you don't feel _completely_ worthless. People like you live for nothing but approval, you have no passion for anything in life; just the things society tells you to want. People like you will never know happiness, because you need a soul to be happy, and you don't look like you got one to me. So tell me Golden Girl, was it worth trading your soul just so you could get the grades that'd make your mommy and daddy proud?"

Mikasa felt something in her snap. _How dare he_ , she thought. _How DARE he!_ Yeager had gone much, much too far. That jab at her parents hurt her deep, deeper than she expected. She could feel her eyes sting with the threat of tears, but she refused to cry in front of this asshole. Instead, without fully realising what she was doing, she curled her hand into a fist and punched Yeager square in the jaw, and much to her satisfaction, it sent him sprawling back against the desks. Gathering himself, he got to his feet, rubbing his jaw, with that twisted grin still on his face.

"Well, I won't lie, you punch good, golden girl." He muttered, but she'd had more than enough of his garbage.

"Shut up and listen, Yeager. You don't know the first thing about me, or my family, so don't you DARE insult either, ever again!" There were still tears in her eyes, but she didn't scream or shout at him, in fact her voice barely went above a whisper, though it was laced with so much venom and hatred that for a moment, even Eren looked taken aback, however briefly. "So from now on, when we share classes, you will keep your mouth and do _exactly_ what I tell you, when I tell you! No sarcasm, no arrogance, understand? I don't care for your-"

She was suddenly cut off by a strange screaming sound that she soon realised was Yeager's phone.

"Sorry, if you'll excuse me, I gotta take this," he said smugly, giving a mock bow as he took out his phone. "That sound means it's urgent."

Mikasa had enough, however, and she snatched the phone out of his hand before he had a chance to read it. Glancing at the screen, she got even angrier.

"' _The beacons are lit?'_ What does that even mean? And how the _hell_ is it urgent? You really don't care about other people, do you Yeager?" Mikasa was getting ready to tear into him again. She couldn't believe how much of an asshole this guy was. He really didn't care that he'd clearly hurt her, or disrespected her parent's memory. He quickly cut off her train of thought however.

"Wait wait wait! _What_ did you say?" He demanded urgently, a look of unease clear on his face. Mikasa couldn't believe it, he wasn't even listening. _Has he been ignoring me the whole time?_

"I was saying that you clearly don't care about anyone but yourself, and you've just proved it by-"

"No, not that! The bit about the beacons!" He demanded, sounding not just angry, but maybe even a little panicked too.

"What?" she said, stunned. He was asking about _that_?

"You said something about the beacons being lit, so I need to know! WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Surprised and a little taken aback by the urgency in his voice, Mikasa responded quieter than before.

"It was that garbage 'urgent' message you got," she said, checking the phone again to make sure she got it right.

"It just says ' _The beacons of Minas Tirith are lit! Gondor calls for aid!'_ , whatever that means." When Mikasa looked back up at Eren, his eyes were wide with panic.

"Oh no," he said. "Armin!"

With that he grabbed his things and bolted past her and down the stairs as fast as he could. _Oh no you don't, Yeager!_ She thought. _You aren't getting away from me this time._

"Yeager, where the hell are you going?" She shouted as she made after him down the stairs and into one of the corridors. He didn't answer her; instead all she heard was him shouting to himself as he ran.

"' _And Rohan will answer!'_ hang on, I'm coming!" He called as he vaulted down a small flight of stairs and kept sprinting without missing a beat. As the two ran, Mikasa couldn't help but notice that Yeager seemed to be looking for someone rather than trying to get away from her. The way he looked around at junctions, his glances into classroom windows as he ran past, not to mention his ferocious speed. Mikasa might have been unbeatable on the racetrack, but even she started to feel the strain in her attempts to keep pace with the boy. He kept running, only seeming to get faster as he went, until the two burst through a pair of double doors. Pausing only briefly, Mikasa was about to question Yeager again until she saw him staring down the corridor with a murderous look on his face. Following his gaze, Mikasa saw three large boys surrounding a smaller boy with bright blonde hair whom they were beating severely. One of the bullies was restraining him from behind while the other two were relentlessly beating him whilst shouting vile abuse. Suddenly Mikasa felt Yeager take off from beside her, sprinting headlong towards the bullies and their victim. _Wait, is he going to fight them?_ She couldn't believe it. There was no way. This guy had no friends, as far as she knew everyone distrusted and avoided him, so why the hell did it look like he was about to run in and save another student that she'd never seen before? Yet there he was. As she realised that he was indeed going to get involved with the fight, another thought struck her. _Three against one? Surely Yeager isn't that stupid_. Mikasa had seen enough highschool brawls to know that those were not good odds to go running into. _Surely he knows he can't take them all on?_ She thought, but once again he proved her wrong.

With a ferocious wordless battle cry, Yeager swung a punch at the apparent lead bully. Unlike all the punches she'd seen in fights like this however, Yeager's wasn't wild or desperate. It was precisely aimed, polished, _trained._ The force of the punch combined with Yeager's running momentum sent the target flying through the air a good 3 meters before landing heavily with an audible smack. The second bully turned to Eren and managed to land a blow to his face, bursting Yeager's lip, though it only served to anger him more. Batting away the fist that was a clear attempt at a follow up, Yeager grabbed the second bully by the shoulders, and with another animal roar, brought his knee up into his opponent's crotch so hard, Mikasa could hear the impact from the other end of the corridor. The bully's face contorted in pain, letting out a silent scream and crumbled to the ground, hands pressed protectively over his groin. The third bully released the blonde boy and advanced on Yeager whilst the first bully pulled himself to his feet. The third did not look anywhere near as sure of himself as the others did, and noticing this, Yeager simply stepped forward, grabbed his opponent's hands and brought his forehead down _hard_ onto the other's face. Mikasa couldn't help but wince as she heard a snapping sound as the force of the impact burst the bully's nose. The first bully once again approached Yeager as the third collapsed to the floor, hands covering his face as blood flowed from his nose. The bully threw another punch that Yeager caught, before twisting his body and throwing his opponent to the floor in a move that had been a clear result of training, though what discipline, Mikasa couldn't say. What came next though, was definitely undisciplined. While the bully was still on the floor, Yeager straddled his stunned opponent and began to savagely and relentlessly strike his head and face, over and over again, even after blood began to flow. _He's going too far, much too far._

As Mikasa finally began running down the corridor to stop him, she could hear him screaming at the bully in between raining down punches.

"FUCK YOU, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!"

Mikasa slowed as she approached, careful not to become a target too, and froze when she saw Yeager's face. Blood was gushing from his burst lip and he was foaming at the mouth. His whole face was contorted into an expression of pure rage and his eyes seemed to literally glow as they burned with hate. _Oh god,_ she realised. _He's lost all control._

"YOU HEAR ME, SCUM? YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU ANIMAL!"

He kept screaming and beating the bully even though he was clearly already unconscious, blood flowing from a broken nose and burst lip. As Mikasa watched the scene in front of her, frozen to the spot, she felt a chill of fear run down her spine for the first time in a very long time.

* * *

In the end, it took three teachers to drag Yeager away from the others, still screaming and raging against their grasp. He was almost certainly bound for expulsion, the only thing saving him being the testimony of the blonde boy the bullies had been attacking. Armin, Mikasa learned his name was, and unlike his apparent friend Yeager, Armin was quiet, thoughtful and kind, a stark contrast to his saviour, though one that Mikasa greatly appreciated. And while Armin's testimony saved Eren from expulsion, he was still landed with severe punishments for his actions. On top of which, Mikasa was greatly pleased to discover that he had, in fact, been listening to her during their confrontation; he didn't say a word to her, barely even looked her when it wasn't necessary, and at the start of every history lesson he'd silently hand her his project research notes, face unreadable. And that is how things went for two weeks, much to Mikasa's pleasure, until the first of two events that would change their lives forever...

* * *

 _ **A/N**_

 _Sorry it took so long. Next update will come soon, promise. In fact, it's already in the works. I'm trying to speed through the set up as much as possible, so things should really get going next chapter. I got big things planned for chapter 4, as well as some feelsy stuff incoming. Reviews/prompts are welcome._

 _Till next time,_

 _Shinzou Sasageyou!_


End file.
